What Doesnt Kill You, Tessa Miller
What Doesnt Kill You, Tessa Miller
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What Doesn't Kill You
A Life with Chronic Illness - Lessons from a Body in Revolt

Author: Tessa Miller

Narrator: Tessa Miller

Unabridged: 9 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/02/2021

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

A riveting and candid account of a young journalist's awakening to a life of chronic illness, weaving together her personal story with reporting to shed light on how Americans live with long-term diagnoses today.

Tessa Miller was an ambitious twentysomething writer in New York City when, on a random fall day, her stomach began to seize up. At first, she tried to push through the searing pain, taking time off work and staying home, glued to the toilet. But when it became glaringly apparent something was wrong, Miller gave in to her family's requests and went to the hospital-and thus started a years-long personal nightmare that included procedures, misdiagnoses, and life-threatening infections. Once Miller was finally correctly diagnosed with Crohn's disease, she had yet another new battle to face: accepting that she will, in truth, never get better.

Today, 3 in 5 adults in the United States suffer from a chronic ailment, whether the illness is endometriosis, IBD, IBS, Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, asthma, depression, anxiety, diabetes, or any other chronic ailment. However, despite the prevalence of these illnesses and the impact they have on just about everyone-whether the sufferer is a colleague, a loved one, or you personally-there remains an air of shame and isolation around the topic. Millions endure these diseases alone, not only physically but also emotionally, balancing the stress of relationships and work amidst the ever-looming threat of health complications.

Moving from Miller's maddening yet all too relatable experience into a deeper look at how the medical community handles chronic illness, What Doesn't Kill You exposes the realities of what it means to accept a lifetime diagnosis, pushing past the good, the bad, and the ugly to offer wisdom and solidarity for those trying to make sense of it all.

*This audiobook includes a PDF of resources from the appendix of the book.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily on April 21, 2022

I really enjoyed this one! It was helpful and hopeful. Definitely recommend!......more

Goodreads review by Thomas on August 20, 2022

4.5 stars I enjoyed this evocative, intelligent, and self-aware memoir by Tessa Miller about her experience with Crohn’s disease. Some of the primary strengths of this memoir in my opinion: 1) Miller writes about her experience with Crohn’s disease in vivid detail that captures the pain, shock, and at......more

Goodreads review by Gabriella on February 04, 2025

I found this to be really encouraging, as sobering as it was. Tessa Miller’s What Doesn’t Kill You rejects the frame of “this too shall pass”, and instead provides an honest look at living with an illness that won’t pass. I think even people who don’t have chronic illness will find a lot of these le......more

Goodreads review by Nursebookie on February 21, 2021

This book was amazing and riveting. Tessa Miller is an amazing writer that drew me in to her story and the difficulties of her condition and the struggle to find the right diagnosis. Three in five adults suffer from chronic illness and rising, and Miller deftly writes not only about her personal exp......more

Goodreads review by Cari on September 07, 2020

I get to be the first review for this amazing book? Awesome!! This is an absolutely necessary book for public library collections - not only does Tessa Miller share her personal story here, she also provides valuable information about how to navigate the world with a chronic illness. Although I don't......more